Action of 13 January 2016

The Action of 13 January 2016 was a naval clash between North Korea and South Korea during the Korean conflict. The Korean People's Navy ship Mangchi was destroyed by the Republic of Korea Navy in a classified encounter between the two countries.

Prelude
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un prepared for war with South Korea since 2013, testing a nuclear weapon in January 2016 and sending a drone to the Korean DMZ; on 13 January 2016 it was fired at by the Republic of Korea Army troops stationed there. The Republic of Korea Navy was placed on high alert as more Korean People's Navy ships were deployed to the estuary of the Han River along the 38th Parallel on the western coast of Korea.

Action
At 3:08 PM, the North Korean assault ship Mangchi fired on the ROKN ship Choson, provoking an armed encounter between the two nations. The North Korean ship was then hit by several bullets from the South Korean ship's cannon, and it caught fire. Captain Kim Yong-ho and all 13 crew on board the ship were killed in the fire, while the ROKN lost two dead. Mangchi's destruction and the clash between the two Koreas was kept classified, as the North Koreans did not want their people's enthusiasm for renewed war to waver, while the South Koreans did not want to release potentially dangerous information to the world. The incident was covered up, with even secret records calling it an accidental fire.